Hexad (10 page)

Seven

Jonny woke up suddenly with a start, his eyes flicked frantically around the room. A dim light bulb hung above. He had no idea where he was or why he was there. His initial inspection of the room made him think that he'd been placed in an ancient operating theatre.  Unable to move, he realised that he had been stripped to the waist and that he was strapped to an ancient operating table. He struggled against the restraints on his wrists and ankles, but they were strapped down tight.

Another glance around the room, and he spotted Stevie. Similarly, Stevie was strapped to another operating table, but that was where the similarity ended.

Beside Stevie’s bed stood a metal table, it contained a series of medical instruments, filthy and splattered with dried blood and gore. A bone saw stood next to a jar containing several fingers, another few lay on the surface of the table next to the jar. Looking down to Stevie’s hands, he saw nothing but bloodied stumps that had been wrapped in filthy bandages.

A large jagged incision had been made along the side of his abdomen and ran in a diagonal line to the top of his chest. The ugly looking incision had been carelessly sewn back up with black string, making him look like a gruesome, macabre scarecrow.

His entrails and internal organs had been removed and were sitting in a stainless steel bowl on the table beside his bed. The whole area was covered with fresh blood. Someone had made an attempt to soak some of it up with dirty bandages and gauze but it had spilled all over the surface of the operating table and had dripped all over the floor.

Hanging limp from Stevie’s mouth was a small piece of wood, indented with bite marks. His head hung to the side and his face was a picture of sheer terror, the way he died must have been in severe pain and fright. His face shone white - drained with blood. His lifeless eyes stared at Jonny.

His mind racing, Jonny desperately tried to piece together the sequence of events. Then, it all came back to him – Karl’s stag party – the abandoned hospital – the drugs.

Laughing loudly, he took in the hallucinations that were being thrown back to him by his LSD addled brain. It was all a figment of his imagination, pulling at the bonds once more that held his wrists and ankles, he panicked as he remembered. His friends had wanted a real experience in a haunted house and the acid tabs that he had slipped into their drinks before entering the hospital would give them a night that they would never forget.

As he looked over at the dead body of his best friend, he realised that therein lay the problem. He and Stevie had spiked their friend's drinks but not their own. They were going to play along and film the whole thing to play back to the group as a joke.

He squirmed and pulled at the restraints as the plump, elderly nurse in the filthy uniform entered the room.

She spoke. “Ah, I see you are awake, my dear. It was a terrible shame about your friend. We did what we could for him but in the end the damage from the land mine was too severe.”

He tried to speak. “No, wait, you don’t understand, please don’t.”

She reached over and placed a filthy wet cloth on his brow. “There there, dear. Don’t worry. We will do everything that we can to help you, but I’m afraid that gangrene has set in.”

He began to hyper-ventilate as she started to wrap a leather strap around his forearm. She yanked it tight and he felt the pins and needles immediately prick his fingertips.

“Please, no. You don’t understand," he pleaded.

She placed a small piece of wood in his mouth.

His body drenched in sweat, he looked on in terror as she collected the bone saw from the medical table. Grasping his wrist tightly in her hand, she lined up the saw on the middle of his forearm. Jonny screamed out in agony and bit down hard on the wood between his teeth as she began to cut.

A Preview

Bound

Andrew Lennon and Matt Hickman

March 2013

Vicky Stuart

Friday night.

The nightclub was heaving. Dry ice from the dance floor was being forced into surrounding areas as people were bouncing away to the sound of the loud music. Cheers arose from the appreciative crowd as the DJ mixed the tune into another popular number. Lights and lasers spun, twisting and turning, throwing shapes and illuminations across the walls and floors. The thunderous bass continued to kick from the clubs state of the art sound system.

She was amongst the crowd, her arms held above her head, fingers outstretched reaching for the lasers. Her body was in a complete state of euphoria, she felt amazing. It had been a little over an hour since she had swallowed the small white tablet. She had managed to buy it from one of the unregulated dealers inside. At twenty-six years old, it was the first time she'd ever taken drugs. It was the first time she had ever felt this alive. The serotonin released from her brain, increased by the MDMA she had taken, gave her the feeling of relaxation, confidence and an overwhelming sensation of empathy. She was happily speaking to strangers and exchanging hugs.

She had no objection to drug use; she had always taken a liberal stance on most things, but tonight was about making a fresh start. She had made her decision, regardless of anyone else - it was time for her to start looking after number one.

She continued to dance, all that mattered right here and now was the sound of the music, alive and energetic as it thundered around in her mind, she had never felt this good in her entire life.

All around the club she could sense the same feeling, a feeling of unity, bonding and albeit chemically induced – love.

Vicky was a pretty girl, her straight brown hair fell to the middle of her face, and she had stunning natural features – a girl that rarely had to wear makeup.

Thirty minutes passed in what seemed to be a few seconds, she realised that she needed a drink. The nightclub was hot, the lack of air conditioning combined with the number of people crammed into such a small space made it sweaty. Not that she minded.

Walking from the dance floor she headed in the direction of the bar, a little unsteady on her feet. Standing in the queue, she took a look around. Looking around the club it was spectacular, she felt that she had never seen so many people in a small amount of space. Everywhere around, people were dancing, sat at tables drinking and attempting to speak over the loud volume of the music. A particularly excitable couple next to her at the bar were engaged in a heavy tonguing session – she looked away with a shy smile.

Turning as the barman had given the last punter their change, she shouted over, ordering a bottle of water. Returning, the barman handed over the bottle as she paid. Unscrewing the lid she took a deep swig, the cold contents hitting her stomach making her need to use the bathroom.

The female toilets were disgusting, each of the sinks were filled to the brim with water and were overflowing onto the floor. Standing at the mirrors, women were re-applying make-up and brushing their hair. Small groups were stood around discussing the events of the evening and commenting on the amount of talent in the club.

Passing by a small group of women, one of them pleasantly smiled in acknowledgment and she headed towards the cubicle at the end of the row. Whilst sitting, she heard a mumbled conversation between two women in the next cubicle about cutting up lines of cocaine. Figuring that this was normal clubbing culture and something that she would have to get used to, she ignored the discussion.

She sat staring at the back of the cubicle door, the pleasant feel of the chemicals flowing through her body felt amazing. Her vision kept blurring slightly and then dropping back into focus. It felt strange but nice.

After washing up she walked past the group of women again and through the door back into the club. The kick from the bass reverberated in her chest, she was no longer hearing the music, she was feeling the music.

She slithered past a few people who were dancing outside the toilets and walked in the direction of the dance floor. Whilst walking down the stairs, her shoulder caught the arm of another person dancing. Before she could apologise they had turned round, the immediate attraction was intense – the most captivating pair of green eyes that she had ever seen stared right back at her. Without saying a word, she put her arms around the stranger and they kissed.

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